Sheriff Bradshaw lays out plan to prevent mass shootings locally

With mass shootings and gun control on the minds of many, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said he has a plan to prevent massacres such as those that took place last year in Newtown, Conn. and Aurora, Colo.

Bradshaw spoke to a full house of business leaders and local officials during the recent Central Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Binks Forest Golf Club in Wellington.

"Gun control is a hot issue right now and I want to share what direction I am headed," he said. "I know on the federal level we need to get rid of a few loop holes [as in regards to gun show purchases]. But I don't think that gun control is going to stop what is happening [multiple shootings]."

He said the issue that needs to be discussed is the person using the instrument – whether it's a gun, knife, rock or car – to kill someone.

"I think we are going in the wrong direction with gun control," Bradshaw said.

Instead he said he believes a two-fold proposal will address the national issue on the local level.

First he said a study of 156 multiple shootings found that in most cases the perpetrator had told someone in some way they were going to do the shooting. He also said that all went through phases before the shooting, including fantasizing, planning, gathering and then execution.

"It is during this time that they indirectly or directly make people aware," he said. "It could be through social media or just their behavior."

Part of Bradshaw's plan is to create a hotline similar to Crime Stoppers in which individuals can anonymously report cases where think there may be a situation.

"Let's say you have heard your neighbor, who you know has recently lost their job, is depressed and owns a gun, say they want to kill everyone at their old job. Then you can call this hotline and let someone know," he said. "This would be good because now this person is on our radar screen. We can pay them a visit and keep them from going in the wrong direction."

The second part of the plan would include creating teams consisting of a deputy and two mental health workers that would be available 24 hours to the entire county.

Bradshaw is currently headed to Tallahassee to propose the program that would cost an extra $3.5 million "most of which would go to personnel," he said.

"This is not me treating mental health," he said. "It will not replace 211 [a local suicide hotline] but [it's] a way to prevent and recognize issues."